


Catena

by MiniNephthys



Series: A Demon Summoner Walks Into A Bar [2]
Category: Shin Megami Tensei II, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Genre: Aged-Up Character, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 04:38:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aleph loses the crown of strongest summoner.  Raidou talks to a girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catena

Among demon summoners, there's one way to settle the eternal debate of which summoner is stronger, and it's called 'Catena'. It was named by Kazuya, though the Hitoshura had lobbied for 'reasons why I'm not supposed to punch people in the bar'.

In Catena, instead of wasting time comparing the average strengths of you and your demons, you talk about the strongest enemy you've defeated thus far and which of them would win in a competition. Say you've defeated a time-traveling robot Rasputin. If that's your strongest opponent, and another summoner has defeated Michael the archangel, after a short discussion you'll come to the conclusion that Michael would win in a battle. Thus, the other summoner must be stronger than you, until you advance to the point where you've beaten a more powerful opponent: then you reconvene, discuss, and now are considered stronger than them.

It saves a lot of arguments and fights to talk about your power indirectly, and provides a measure of objectivity. The other part of Catena is that if someone higher than you up the chain is lower than someone else, you are automatically lower than them as well. No fuss.

Without Catena there would be so many challenges in bars and other meeting places for summoners that they'd never be able to talk about anything else, or have a drink.

Aleph is king of Catena. It is hard to argue that any angel, god, or demon is more powerful than the God himself.

A new face appears in the bar one day. She's a redhead who can't be much older than eighteen, and in fact she reveals that she turned eighteen a couple days ago, "do you have a birthday special available? No? Okay."

Some of the other summoners look at each other. Hiro moves to get up from his seat, but surprisingly it's Raidou who takes the barstool next to her. Raidou doesn't often show an interest in girls, even ones his age.

The girl orders a weak drink and turns toward him. "Do you come here often?"

"Occasionally. It's a good place for news among our circle." Raidou tips his hat slightly towards her. "My name is Raidou Kuzunoha."

"Mirai Kaname." She offers a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you. I haven't been able to come here before this."

"It's probably for the best. The clients aren't always the most tactful when it comes to..."

"Girls," she finishes for him. "I don't usually have that problem. My father expects me to best them myself, but if I don't punish them for making a move then he comes and destroys them, and I feel bad for him overreacting. Actually, though, I was talking about the drinking age."

"Ah." An awkward silence falls before Raidou speaks up again. "You're a summoner?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"Would you share with us some of your stories?" he asks. "If you'd like, but it's traditional."

"Sure." She thinks for a moment. "Let's see... There was Azel, and then Michael, then defeating the Goddess of the Stars-"

A murmur passes across the room. Aleph gets up from his seat. "Could you tell me more about the Goddess of the Stars?"

Mirai blinks. "The Goddess of the Stars was the being who created my universe- a being more powerful that the Christian God, but less likely to interfere in human events. If appealed to, she could remake the entire world at someone's command. And, well, the world was ending, so..."

Aleph considers this for a few seconds. "Catena. You win," he says, and sits back down.

"You did all that?" Raidou asks. "Impressive." He's fairly low down the totem pole himself. The being that possessed Kaya Daidouji was in the end just a temple knight, much like the ones Aleph had known. And the god worshipped by a small town was hardly worth noting even if it was near the capital. He accepts that this is how Catena works, however.

Mirai smiles, seeming a bit embarrassed. "Well, this was all four years ago, so..."

Somebody says "oh come on" in the background. Aleph shoots them a glare and they quiet down and go back to their own conversation.

"So-" Raidou begins, before the door opens and a familiar blond young man walks in who instantly occupies Mirai's attention.

He lays a hand on the bar on the other side of Mirai. "Mirai, this drink is trash. Have something from the right side of the menu next time."

"All right, papa." Mirai glances back at Raidou. "He wasn't hitting on me at all."

"I know. He's much smarter than that." Lucifer shoots Raidou a look that doesn't take a genius to decipher as a paternal warning. "Now, isn't that movie you wanted to see opening soon...?"

"Oh, I forgot!" Mirai bounces up from her seat. "Sorry, I'll have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Raidou. Take care."

Lucifer guides her out with a hand on her shoulder before Raidou can come up with a reply.


End file.
